Love is Thicker than Blood
by Christina Beth
Summary: Based during The Goblet of Fire  Voldemort has a daughter and he sent her to Hogwarts to gain information about Harry Potter. But when happens when things don't go according to plan? [HarryOC]
1. Chapter 1

Voldemort sat in his chair; he was racking his brains for a way to get Harry Potter. So far he couldn't come up with anything.

There was also the matter of Dumbledore's letter.

Voldemort had been very surprised when Dumbledore's owl came; he thought he wouldn't be contacted by this man, especially about Emberlynne.

Emberlynne was Voldemort's fourteen year old daughter, and most likely the only living person that Voldemort would show any mercy to.

The letter asked Voldemort to send Emberlynne to Hogwarts, where she would be placed in with all the other fourth years as Dumbledore knew she had been taught from home.

Voldemort was, at first, appalled, that Dumbledore would ask such a thing of him, surely it had to be a trap of some sort.

When he read on though he saw that Dumbledore had promised to keep everything a secret. Even though Voldemort hated Dumbledore with every fiber of his being, he knew that Albus Dumbledore was a man of his word.

No one would know that Emberlynne was Voldemort's daughter…

Then it hit him.

"Emberlynne!" Voldemort bellowed.

He had a new plan and he needed his daughter.

Emberlynne almost instantly, seemingly as though she had been waiting just outside the door.

"Yes father?" Emberlynne asked.

Voldemort examined his daughter. She was beautiful, intelligent, creative, and just what he needed to get Potter.

"As you know, I have been trying to come up with a plan to kill Harry Potter…" Voldemort started.

"Father, can't you just let it go? I mean, that was fourteen years ago." Emberlynne interrupted.

Voldemort sat there shocked. She had always been quiet while he was talking, and now this?

"Emberlynne, you know you shouldn't interrupt me." Voldemort stated.

"Yes, I know father, but you have been going on about nothing but this Potter boy and to be quite honest it's getting to be quite annoying." Emberlynne said.

Voldemort sat for a moment. Why was she being so outspoken?

"Well, if you only knew the entire story behind it all, then you would know why this is all so important. So shut up and listen." Voldemort hissed.

Emberlynne shut her mouth.

"Thank you. Now, I want you to go to Hogwarts and…" Voldemort started, but once again he was interrupted.

"You have to be kidding. I mean, you said that you would teach me everything you know and that you would sooner be slain by Harry Potter than let me walk into that place." Emberlynne said, recalling one of their many conversations together.

"First off, since when I have been joking about anything when it comes to Harry Potter?" Emberlynne had to admit that he had a point there.

"Also, let me finish." He hissed once again.

Emberlynne nodded her head and looked at her father.

"I want you to go to Hogwarts and meet up with Potter, become friends with him, follow him around, gather information, find a weakness." Voldemort finished.

Emberlynne looked at him as though he had just asked her to kill Harry Potter herself.

"Father, I'm sorry, but I can't. You know that I want nothing to do with this whole Potter situation." Emberlynne protested.

"It's not open for discussion. You will do as you're told, or else you could very suffer the same fate as the boy." Voldemort said, knowing that this would make her do it. He would never kill her, but she didn't know that, she saw him as cold and heartless as everyone else, only on a smaller level.

"You'll be going to Diagon Alley to get your school supplies, here is the list." Voldemort said, handing her a long piece of parchment.

"I'm going alone?" Emberlynne asked hopefully, taking the parchment.

"Of course not. Severus will be accompanying you." Voldemort told her.

A small blush swept across Emberlynne's face that Voldemort missed as he was looking over the other contents of Dumbledore's letter.

There was a small knock on the door and Voldemort looked up from the letter.

"Ah, that must be Severus now; he was always very good when it came to being on time." Voldemort said.

"Enter Severus." He commanded.

The black door at the end of the room swung open to reveal Severus Snape, as he walked farther into the room a smile flashed over Emberlynne's face, this Voldemort didn't miss it, but he didn't say anything either. He knew about Emberlynne's crush on Severus, and, in his opinion, she couldn't have better taste.

"Good day my lord." Snape said, bowing to Voldemort.

"Miss. Emberlynne." Snape said, bowing to her as well.

"Good day Severus." Emberlynne said.

"Severus, you know why you're here." Voldemort said.

"To escort Emberlynne to Diagon Alley for…" Snape began to relay his assignment but was interrupted.

"For Hogwarts school supplies." Voldemort finished for him.

Snape took on a face of confusion.

"But I thought…" Snape started.

"You were in the right state of mind, but I have changed my plans. Emberlynne will be attending Hogwarts this year." Voldemort explained.

Snape, who was still confused, nodded and kept quiet. He knew better than to question Voldemort's plans.

"Now, she has the list, so be off." Voldemort said.

"Yes my lord." Severus said, bowing once more, then he stood tall, turned on his heel and walked towards the door, Emberlynne in tow and at the same time summoning her bag.


	2. Chapter 2

Diagon Alley was filled with young witches and wizards, along with their parents, none of which paid any attention to Severus and Emberlynne.

"You have a wand, correct?" Snape asked.

Emberlynne could not believe he had just asked that question. She looked up at him and saw that he was serious, so she decided not to cross him.

"Yes, that's right." Emberlynne replied.

"Alright, well, let's get your robes, being a riddle, you'll be in Slytherin…" Severus was interrupted.

"How do you know?" Emberlynne asked.

"Well, it's pretty much all to do with blood; it runs in the family, it is a bit hard to explain." Snape explained.

Emberlynne was still puzzling over this as the two entered the double doors of the robe shop.

"Severus! I haven't seen you in ages, what have you been doing with yourself?" Asked a bright, cheerful woman in long mauve robes.

"Not a lot really, I am just helping a friend get her Hogwarts supplies." Snape answered; no expression on his face.

"Well aren't you a beauty?" The woman asked eyeing Emberlynne.

Emberlynne just smiled and followed the women to the back of the shop.

"So, what house are you in?" the woman asked surveying various fabrics.

"Slytherin" Emberlynne answered rather slowly.

"Alright then." The woman said picking up some black and green fabric from the large pile of red, gold, blue and green.

The woman took a few measurements and began measuring Emberlynne's height and width.

"What year are you going into?" The woman asked; she knew she wasn't a first year.

Emberlynne thought for a moment. What had her father told her?

"Fourth." Emberlynne answered, she realized her father hadn't told her, so she just picked a number, what did it matter?

"Hm… my best year…" The woman said through a couple pins she held in her mouth. With a few interesting movements of the woman's wand the robes fit themselves perfectly onto Emberlynne's body.

"There you are." The woman said, handing Emberlynne four robes identical to the one she was wearing.

"Thank you ma'am" Emberlynne said sweetly stepping down from a pedestal the woman had put her on.

"Just doin' my job dearie." The woman answered leaving Emberlynne to tend to some new-comers.

"Got everything?" Snape asked her.

Emberlynne nodded and they left the store.

After that, Severus and Emberlynne went off to the other shops to buy the required materials. They finished quickly as they weren't easily distracted people.

"Well, that's everything on the list." Emberlynne as she and Snape were sitting at a table outside an ice cream shop. The server there brought them their butterbeers and the two sat drinking, in silence. Emberlynne looked at Severus. She found him so handsome; she only wished that he would smile.

Emberlynne had liked Severus Snape since she was about seven years old, which was when she would follow him around everywhere he went. Thinking back Emberlynne was surprised at how tolerant he was of her. Was it because she was Voldemort's daughter? Or was there something else? She didn't really want to ask, as that would be too awkward. She had to break the silence though, and she could really only think of one other thing.

"So, Severus, I was wondering, do you hate Harry Potter as much as my father does?" Emberlynne asked.

Snape looked at her a moment; surprised at the question.

"My dislike for Potter goes back to his father, who was a loathsome bully and I see more of him in his son every time I see him." Severus explained.

"Did you meet my father there?" she asked.

"No. We met long after I had graduated from Hogwarts and eventually became a professor there." Severus said, taking a sip of his butterbeer.

"What is it you teach?" Emberlynne asked, looking at Snape with pure interest.

"Potions. Which I consider an art that almost all of my students abuse." Snape said, annoyance in his voice.

Before Emberlynne could ask another question Severus drained his bottle, Emberlynne had done so a few moments before and he rose to his feet.

"We should be off" He suggested.

Emberlynne nodded and followed out of Diagon Alley.


	3. Chapter 3

The day of departure was soon upon Emberlynne, and she really didn't want to go. She didn't approve of her father's plans, but she knew that is she were to refuse and actually back up her words of refusal, well, there wouldn't be much left of her.

"Are you ready to go Emberlynne?" Voldemort asked his daughter as they stood in the main hallway of Voldemort's mansion.

"Yes father." Emberlynne said quietly looking at the floor.

"Good. Lucius will be here with Draco to apparate you both to Platform 9 ¾" Voldemort instructed.

Emberlynne rolled her eyes at the floor. She had never really liked the Malfoys. Draco was a stuck up, selfish snobby little brat and his father was really only an older version of him.

A few minutes later, the two Malfoys appeared.

"Well, we have ten minutes to catch the train, come along Emberlynne." Lucius said immediately upon entering the hallway, Voldemort had left. He and his daughter didn't hug, they showed no affection. That's just how it was. Voldemort could show no weakness, even in private.

Emberlynne nodded and put one hand on her trunk and the other in Draco's, who smiled. It was common knowledge Draco liked her, too bad the feelings weren't mutual.

The three and their belongings disapparted from Voldemort's mansion and re-appeared beside the Hogwarts Express.

"Well, here we are." Draco said, he exchanged farewells with his father and led Emberlynne onto the train to find a compartment. When they did find one, it was occupied by three others. Draco introduced them as Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy.

"DRACO! I haven't heard from you all summer, I missed you a lot!" Pansy cried as soon as he sat down next to Emberlynne. Draco sat for a moment, trying his hardest not to roll his eyes.

"Right, well… My owl was sick." Draco lied.

"But you…" Goyle began, but before he could finish Draco swiftly kicked him in the shin.

"Well, I hope your owl is feeling better." Pansy said.

"Oh… don't worry, he is." Draco said flatly.

"So, who's this?" Crabbe asked pointing at Emberlynne.

"I'm Emberlynne." She replied before Draco could answer open his mouth.

"Hm…Are you a pureblood?" Pansy asked staring daggers at Emberlynne.

"If I wasn't do you think he'd be anywhere near me?" Emberlynne asked smartly, also pointing at Draco.

Pansy sat back in her seat. She didn't like Emberlynne.

The rest of the train ride the compartment was generally quiet, except for Pansy who was gabbing on and on about how her sister had just had a baby and how much she wished she'd had one.

Emberlynne glanced at Draco and realized that the expression on his face was that of awkward confusion. For some reason, Emberlynne decided to save him.

"Draco, can I talk to you a moment?" She asked, interrupting Pansy in the middle of her explanation of how painful child birth was, which, Emberlynne didn't want to hear it either so, she was more or so saving herself as well. Draco turned towards Emberlynne quickly. Pansy's eyes lowered and she pouted quietly.

"What is with this chic?" Emberlynne asked.

"Pansy? Oh, nothing really, she just really likes me." Draco said smiling, for some reason.

Emberlynne raised her eye brow.

"Why?" She asked trying not to laugh.

"Because, I mean, what's not to like?" Draco asked sitting up straighter.

"Right…. Well, do you like her back?" Emberlynne asked.

"Me? Like her? Yeah right." Draco said laughing lightly.

"Then you should tell her." Emberlynne said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"No… that would hurt her." Draco said unconvincingly.

"Since when are you Mr. Sensitive?" Emberlynne asked almost busting out laughing.

"Ugh. Look, I really only keep her around in case I need… a boost in my self-esteem." Draco said.

"You're kidding right? I mean, you're so full of yourself the last thing you need is a boost. " Emberlynne said seriously.

"Well since _someone_here won't do it, I have to have something." Draco said indicating the word 'someone' towards Emberlynne.

"Keep Dreaming." Emberlynne stated.

"Believe me, I will." Draco said sticking his tongue out at Emberlynne like a five year old.

"I think we should put out robes on. We're almost at the station." Pansy interrupted.

Everyone went to their trunks and pulled out the robes of black and green. Emberlynne put her robes on over her regular clothes, fully aware that Draco was still looking at her.

Pansy noticed as well and immediately took Draco by the arm and led him out of the compartment.

When she was alone Emberlynne laughed hard, aloud. She couldn't believe Draco; or Pansy for that matter. She could tell Pansy didn't know Draco very well, but since Pansy didn't like her already, Emberlynne figured that Pansy wouldn't listen to anything Emberlynne said to her about Draco.

Emberlynne shrugged it off. She was taught that people should make their own mistakes.


	4. Chapter 4

Stepping off the train Emberlynne noticed how dark it was outside, and there was a light drizzle outside. She followed the crowd towards a long line of carriages that seemed to be drawn by nothing. She found an empty one and climbed inside; waiting for it to start towards the castle that she could just make out the outline of through the darkness.

A few minutes later a group of three students stood outside the carriage.

"Hello, are these seats taken?" Asked a girl with long dirty blonde hair.

Emberlynne shook her head and the three climbed in. She looked at the other two that climbed in after the girl. One was a boy, who seemed very tall, even sitting down, his eyes brown and his hair was a very bright shade of red. The other boy, who Emberlynne thought seemed rather familiar, had deep, green eyes; a bit scrawny and very messy black hair. Emberlynne noticed something hidden beneath the boy's hair. A thin, white scar in the shape of a lightning bolt.

"You're Harry Potter!" Emberlynne said aloud realizing why this boy was so familiar.

The boy looked a bit startled at the exclamation, but he nodded.

"Yes, that's me, and these are my friends, Hermione and Ron." He said politely gesturing towards the other two.

"Very nice to meet you, I'm Emberlynne." Emberlynne said, realizing that Harry was much more attractive in person than he was in pictures.

"That's a very nice name." Hermione commented.

Emberlynne smiled and thanked her. After that, the carriage began to move and the pathway seemed very bumpy. Emberlynne sat quietly, listening to the small talk between the other three.

When the carriage stopped Ron and Hermione jumped out first, Harry got to the door first, but he stopped.

"Ladies first." He said smiling at Emberlynne.

"I guess chivalry isn't dead." Emberlynne said stepping out.

Harry laughed and stepped out behind her.

"So, what year are you?" He asked.

"Fourth." Emberlynne answered shortly.

"Really? That's interesting; I haven't seen you around before." Harry said questioningly.

"Well, I was home-schooled for awhile." Emberlynne.

"I see." Harry said nodding.

As they reached the castle a hand pulled Emberlynne out of the crowd.

"Excuse me but…" Emberlynne began to say before she realized it was an adult that had done it.

"Emberlynne, correct?" asked the woman. She was an older witch, her spectacles resting on her nose; her auburn hair was pulled into a tight bun and her expression was stern.

"Yes ma'am" Emberlynne nodded.

"I am Professor McGonagall" The woman stated.

"Well, good evening Professor, how may I help you?" Emberlynne asked.

Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow at such politeness.

"I need you to come with me to see headmaster Dumbledore." McGonagall said.

"Alright." Emberlynne said following the Professor through a separate set of doors that no one else seemed to notice. Through the door was a very long hallway. No doors or corners were present, the only thing of interest were the portraits on the wall of past headmasters, all moving in and out of their own frames to speak with others.

Finally they came to a door on which Professor McGonagall knocked three times and the door opened all by itself. McGonagall led Emberlynne inside. The room was fairly large and filled with all sorts of strange objects, most of which were also making odd noises.

"Ah, Emberlynne! Welcome." came a voice from the back of the room near a shelf full of books, all of which looked several years old.

"Minerva, please make your way to the feast." The man ordered politely. The woman nodded and left.

Emberlynne stood alone, nervous; she knew who this man was.

"Well, Emberlynne, welcome to Hogwarts." The man said; his face kind.

Emberlynne nodded.

"You're Dumbledore aren't you?" She asked.

"Yes I am. Now, I see that you have your robes and things, but I want to sort you just to make sure of what house you're in." Dumbledore said, pulling an old hat out of a glass cabinet. Dumbledore gestured for Emberlynne to sit on a stool nearby. She did so and when she was on the stool, Albus placed the hat over Emberlynne's long, dark brown hair, it slipped past her eyes.

The hat began to talk.

"Ah, a Riddle, but you are much different from your father. Well, I know just the house for you… Gryffindor!" The hat shouted.

Emberlynne sat for a moment after the hat was removed, Gryffindor? How could that be? Severus had said that normally people related went into the same house; apparently this was a normal case. When the hat was removed, Emberlynne saw that Dumbledore was surprised as well, but he didn't really say anything, he just pointed his wand at Emberlynne's robes and flicked it slightly, changing the green to red.

"Now Emberlynne, I hope you find Hogwarts comfortable" Dumbledore said.

"I'm sure I will." Emberlynne said.

"Now we should get to the feast so the first years can be sorted." Dumbledore suggested chuckling.

Emberlynne followed him through a door and another hallway until they entered a large dining hall filled several tables and a whole lot of people.

Dumbledore handed the stool and hat to Professor McGonagall. After that, he pointed to a table for Emberlynne to sit at. When she reached the table she saw that it was all Gryffindors. She sat down between to red-heads; she figured they were twins seeing as how they looked the same.

"Well, who are you?" Asked the red-head on the right.

"I'm Emberlynne." She answered.

"Well, I'm Fred" Said the boy on the right.

"And I'm George." Chimed in the one on the left.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Fred and George." Emberlynne said.

Food suddenly appeared on the tables and everyone began filling their plates and goblets.

Emberlynne enjoyed herself immensely; she hadn't been around people her age in a long time, unless you counted Draco, which she didn't. Fred and George were both extremely hilarious and witty. Emberlynne couldn't remember a time when she had laughed so much.

When everyone was full and tired all the houses were led to their dorms. Emberlynne followed everyone sleepily to the portrait of a large woman in a pink gown. They were all told the password and the portrait swung open to reveal a warm common room.

Some people stayed to chat with others, and everyone else went off to bed. Emberlynne was deciding what to do when Fred and George caught up with her.

"Hey Emberlynne, come sit with us!" Fred said excitedly.

Emberlynne shrugged and went with over to a few other people. Three of them she recognized as Ron, Harry and Hermione.

As they all talked about their summers, Emberlynne couldn't help but notice that Harry kept glancing up at her every few moments. She always looked back, causing him to look away. As he talked, Emberlynne tried to figure out how Harry fit Snape's description of him, and how her father could hate him so much.

"So Emberlynne, Why were you home schooled?" Harry asked her.

"Oh, well, my father just wanted to teach me himself for awhile." Emberlynne explained, leaving out most of the reasons for her home-schooling.

"Interesting, so, are you into quidditch?" Harry asked inquiringly.

"YES! I love it, best sport there is." Emberlynne said.

"Really? That's awesome, you know, I'm the seeker for Gryffindor." Harry said sitting up proudly.

Emberlynne and Harry stayed up long after everyone else went to bed, just talking about quidditch. Harry couldn't believe that he had found a girl that was so interested and knew so much about the game. She even gave him a few tips on how to maneuver his broom better.

Emberlynne was delighted that Harry was a quidditch player, finally, someone that understood her love of the game. He seemed so nice and polite, her stomach sank with the guilt of what she was really doing, and at the same time it was full of butterflies.


	5. Chapter 5

Love is Thicker than Blood – Part Five

Emberlynne woke up the first day of classes early and hungry. She moved the red curtains around her bed open and put her feet on the cold tile floor. Emberlynne didn't think anyone would be awake for at least another hour. She began to prepare for the day; Putting the needed books into her bag, putting on her uniform and robes. Suddenly she stopped. Emberlynne could hear something that seemed like the sound pages turning. She walked over to where the sound was coming from; it was Hermione's bed.

"Hermione?" Emberlynne whispered.

A hand pulled open the curtain and there was Hermione, a book in hand with her index finger keeping her place.

"Good morning Emberlynne." Hermione greeted quietly.

"What are you reading?" Emberlynne asked eyeing Hermione's book.

"Oh, it's just a muggle book, you probably haven't…" Hermione began, but she was unable to finish because Emberlynne had seen the title.

"Pride and Prejudice!?" Emberlynne quietly exclaimed.

"Oh, have you heard of it?" Hermione asked.

"Heard of it? I've only read it six times." Emberlynne stated happily.

"Really? This is my third time." Hermione said, her smile growing.

"Isn't it the greatest?" Emberlynne asked enthusiastically.

"Oh yes!" Hermione agreed.

The two girls chatted on about the book, and several others they'd read; muggle or magic. They only stopped when all the other girls had woken up and were getting ready for the day. Hermione got up to get ready as well. Emberlynne moved to sit on the bed and wait so that Hermione could get into her trunk.

When Hermione was ready she and Emberlynne made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast, where they met up with Harry and Ron who were already filling their plates with eggs and sausage. There wasn't much conversation over breakfast, seeing as how everyone was hungry, especially Hermione and Emberlynne because of waking up early.

On the way to potions, almost everyone was groaning.

"I tell you, Snape shouldn't be allowed to teach; especially this early in the morning." Ron said bitterly.

Emberlynne was shocked. She'd never really heard anyone speak ill of Severus Snape.

"Why would you say something like that?" Emberlynne asked.

"Because the man is a slimy, unfair, git." Harry stated simply.

"They're right. Snape makes even me look stupid." Hermione pouted.

"I'm sure he's not all that bad." Emberlynne defended.

"Well, you're in for a surprise." Harry and Ron said in unison.

Emberlynne just rolled her eyes as they made their way to the dungeon classroom. As they entered, most of the Slytherins were already in attendance. As for the Gryffindors, well, they stayed away as long as they could.

The four Gryffindors took a seat in the very back of the room, so they could be away from Snape. As the minutes passed the rest of the class trickled in and waited for their professor. Severus entered from his office door just after the bell rang. He was quiet for a moment as he took role. When he finished, he began class.

"Alright, today you'll be making a truth serum. You'll be working with a partner, which means two and no more. The instructions six hundred – seventy four, follow the instructions to the letter for you'll be testing the serum no your partner. We wouldn't want any accidents now would we? " Snape finished. Emberlynne couldn't help but laugh at Snape's twisted form of humor, which got her several confused stares from all the other Gryffindors. Everyone pulled into partners and since Hermione was working with Ron, Emberlynne worked with Harry.

"I should warn you, I'm really no good at potions." Harry admitted sheepishly.

"Don't worry, I am, just hand me what I ask for." Emberlynne said laughing.

"Fine with me." Harry said smiling as he turned to the instructed page in his potion's book.

As the work continued, Emberlynne flirted without even noticing it, Harry didn't really realize it either; but Snape did. The potion improved as well, it went from a light pink to clear. Snape was going around checking over the student's work making his snide, sarcastic comments; when he reached Harry and Emberlynne's potion, he examined the potion, but to his disappointment he couldn't find anything wrong with it.

"Don't forget to test it. Oh, Emberlynne, see me after class, which is in about ten minutes, so, you should all be cleaning up and putting samples of your potion in a vial, label it and leave it on my desk." Snape announced.

"Here, you can test it on me." Harry volunteered.

"Alright" Emberlynne agreed, she filled a cup with the clear liquid and handed it to Harry.

Harry drained the cup, and nothing really happened, that was a good sign.

"Alright, Harry, who do you like?" Emberlynne asked, it was really the only question she could think of that most people wouldn't answer honestly unless under the influence.

"Emberlynne" Harry answered in a blank monotone.

Emberlynne beamed, the potion worked. She filled a vial and labeled it, and then while Harry cleaned up, she took the bottle up to Snape's desk. When she got back to the work station, Emberlynne spooned some more of the potion into a larger bottle and slipped it carefully into her bag while Harry wasn't looking.

When the bell rang, the class filtered out, but Emberlynne stayed behind.


	6. Chapter 6

Emberlynne waited as Snape put away the assignments to be graded later, she glanced at a few she knew would fail horribly; Malfoy's was pitch black. When Snape had them all put away, he turned to Emberlynne.

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked her quite bluntly.

"What are you talking about?" Emberlynne asked.

"You're flirting with Potter." Severus stated.

"You don't know what you're talking about. Besides, how would you know how I flirt?" Emberlynne scoffed.

"Seeing as how you flirt with me constantly, I've learned a thing or two." Snape stated dryly.

"But how…?" Emberlynne asked, her face reddening.

"You're not very subtle." Snape explained.

Emberlynne rolled her eyes, a habit she wasn't about to break.

"Fine, but some harmless flirting…" Emberlynne began until interrupted.

"Harmless? You think flirting with Potter is harmless? Your father said you were here to get information about the boy, not get cozy…" Snape hissed.

"Who cares how I get the information, as long as I get it." Emberlynne tried to defend herself.

Snape looked at Emberlynne as though he wanted to smack her.

"Have you met your father? Emberlynne, you know how he is, what he's capable of…" Snape tried to explain.

"What does any of that have to do with me!?" Emberlynne shouted.

"If he thinks for even five minutes that you have feelings for Potter, and believes that it will mess up his plan, he'll get rid of you Emberlynne." Severus explained coldly.

"He'd never…" Emberlynne shook her head in disbelief.

"Lord Voldemort will stop at nothing to get to Harry Potter, and he'll kill whoever gets in the way. Emberlynne, please just listen to me and cool down, I don't want to see you killed." Snape said putting his hand on Emberlynne's shoulder and looking into those crystal blue eyes.

Emberlynne had longed for some kind of physical contact between her and Snape, but at the moment it did nothing for her.

"Since when did you start caring?" Emberlynne asked bitterly.

"Emberlynne, I'm trying to look out for you." Snape admitted removing his hand from her shoulder.

"Do me a favor and don't. I can look after myself." Emberlynne said harshly.

Before Severus could reply, Emberlynne had her bag and was out the door.


	7. Chapter 7

Emberlynne was completely lost. She was so frustrated about what had just happened with Snape that she hadn't paid any attention to where she was going.

She liked Severus, even though at the moment she couldn't figure out why, there was so much about him that she knew and others didn't. For him to say that her father would kill her under certain circumstances though, that to her was just insane. She'd seen a side of her father no one else had. One that he only used around her. Emberlynne was almost in tears from her confusion and her state of being lost that she didn't see the person she ran into.

"I'm so sorry!" Came a familiar voice.

Emberlynne looked up to see Harry already standing and extending his hand to help her up.

Emberlynne took his hand, which was warm and, oddly enough, soft.

"Thank you." Emberlynne said smiling, revealing several bright, straight teeth.

"Did you just get out of Snape's class?" Harry asked her.

"Yes, and I think you were right. He is quite the git." Emberlynne said laughing.

There was just something about Harry that made her want to smile.

"Told ya so. So, where you off to?" Harry asked laughing with her.

"Well actually, I'm not quite sure, see; I kind of got a bit lost." Emberlynne admitted.

"Who could blame you? I still get lost sometimes." Harry said, his eyes twinkling.

"So, by the looks of my schedule this is a free period, seems a bit odd to have one so early…" Emberlynne thought aloud.

"Are you complaining?" Harry asked.

"Not really." Emberlynne said grinning.

"So, did you have anything in mind to do with your time?" Harry asked.

"Um… to get un-lost." Emberlynne said nodding.

"Right, well, I can't help you, how about I show you around the castle until Charms class?" Harry asked.

"Sure." Emberlynne agreed.

So, Harry and Emberlynne set off on a tour of the castle.

About an hour after Harry had begun the tour, the two were now sitting on a bench outside charms class with a few Hufflepuffs and, for some reason, Fred and George.

"Well Harry, I must say that you are quite the tour guide." Emberlynne complimented.

"Well thank you Emberlynne." Harry said smiling at her.

There was a short pause in which Emberlynne was making up her mind as to whether or not she should do what she really wanted to do. She decided that she should do it.

"Harry…" Emberlynne said to get his attention, along with sliding closer to Harry.

"Yes?" He asked looking at her; one look into her eyes told him what she was thinking.

Emberlynne didn't say anything. She just leaned her lips into Harry's and pressed hard. She'd never kissed a boy, though Malfoy came dangerously close several times, and she was glad, this was one of the greatest experiences of her short life.

Harry pushed his tongue into her mouth and explored the inside of her mouth. Emberlynne copied, hoping he wouldn't realize this was her first time.

Several whistles were let from the few students around them and Emberlynne could hear Fred say:

"Looks like Harry doesn't need Charm lessons."


	8. Chapter 8

Love is Thicker than Blood – Part Eight

Charms class was nothing too interesting. Just reading and note taking, all of which Hermione had already finished. Ron quietly begged her to let him copy her work, but, as always, Hermione refuse; saying that he wouldn't learn anything from copying. Ron pouted as went to his book for a late start.

Emberlynne had been paying attention to most of this as she'd finished early. She knew that Ron wouldn't finish and there was a good chance he wouldn't be finishing it for homework.

Emberlynne made sure no one was paying attention and that Flitwick was out of sight. She took out her wand and raised her notes so no one could see what she was doing. Emberlynne skimmed her notes with the wand and when she was finished, she leaned over.

"Ron!" She whispered urgently

Ron looked over at her, a bit flustered due to his rushed note taking. Emberlynne gestured for him to hand her his paper, he slid the paper across the table. Emberlynne looked at it a moment, Ron's handwriting was almost illegible, good thing her handwriting wasn't.

Emberlynne tapped her wand on the parchment and all the words came flooding out. When she finished, Emberlynne smiled and passed the parchment back to Ron.

"What's this?" He asked confused.

"Better notes than you had." Emberlynne answered.

Ron's face lit up as he smiled at her. Emberlynne smiled back, she was glad she could help.

The remainder of the class period was spent passing notes back and forth with Harry and trying desperately to stifle laughter.

When the bell rang and class was dismissed, Ron hurried to catch up with Harry and Emberlynne, who were making their way, quickly, to lunch.

"Hey Emberlynne! Thanks so much." Ron said.

"Thanks for what?" Harry asked looking at Emberlynne.

"I gave him a copy of my notes." Emberlynne answered.

"Hermione said no?" Harry asked Ron knowingly.

"Of course. Emberlynne offered though, I didn't even think to ask her." Ron admitted.

The smell of lunch came wafting down the hall and hitting all three in the nostrils.

"Smells good" Emberlynne commented upon entering.

That's when Draco noticed her.

Sorry about everything being so short. I haven't had a lot of time for my writing. Thigs will get better


	9. Chapter 9

"Emberlynne!" Draco shouted above all the noise of the students coming into the dining hall. Emberlynne turned and saw Draco motioning for her to come over to him.

"I'll be right back." Emberlynne said to Harry.

"What do you want?" Emberlynne asked Draco annoyed.

"Is it true?" Draco asked.

"Is what true?" Emberlynne asked.

"You kissed Potter?" Draco asked hoping it wasn't true.

"Oh that, yeah I did." Emberlynne said, her face turning red.

"Are you insane?! How could you do that???" Draco exclaimed.

"Very carefully." Emberlynne said smartly.

"Do you have any idea what your father would do to you if…" Draco started.

"Draco, stop right there. I got the same speech from Snape; I don't need it from you. I know what I'm doing so just shut up." Emberlynne snapped.

Draco looked taken aback.

"So, you'll kiss Potter but not me?" Draco asked sounding hurt, trying to change the subject.

"That's right. Now just leave me alone." Emberlynne said turning to leave him.

"You're father wants you to write him." Draco informed her as she walked off.

Emberlynne walked back to the Gryffindor table and sat next to Harry.

"You know Malfoy?" Harry asked.

"His family is friends with mine. Not that I'm thrilled about it." Emberlynne replied coldly.

"What did he want?" Hermione asked.

"He was just basically admitting that he's jealous of Harry. No big deal."Emberlynne replied putting some chicken on her plate.

Harry smiled. He couldn't blame Malfoy for liking her, the good thing was that he had her and Draco didn't seem to have a chance with her.

After lunch Harry, Ron, Hermione and Emberlynne made their way outside to Care of Magical Creatures class.

"You'll love Hagrid, he's the best!" Harry said happily.

"Hopefully he doesn't stick us with anything too… dangerous." Hermione worried.

"Yeah, or anything that he considers cute." Ron said rolling his eyes.

Emberlynne laughed along with everyone as they came onto the patch of land where class would be held.

"Welcome fourth years!" Boomed Hagrid, a large man with hair covering almost all of his face, his black eyes glistening through the dark mass.

"Now, today we'll be dealing with Kanthers. Kanthers are very gentle creatures, unless you hit them, they don't like that much." Hagrid chuckled at this. Everyone else looked around nervously.

"Alright, everyone follow me to the back." Hagrid instructed, circling the small hut. When they got around they saw what was, apparently, the Kanthers.

The Kanthers were fairly large creatures, they looked like cross between a dog and cat. The head was that of cat's and the body, with the exception of the tail was that of a dog's. The tail looked like a cat tail, long and fluffy.

"Now, these particular Kanthers need a good grooming. Meaning, I want you to wash, try and brush them. I know it seems unimportant, but it has to be done and Dumbledore wants it to be done as a lesson." Hagrid explained.

Everyone paired up and took a Kanther, Harry paired up with Emberlynne, leaving Ron with Hermione. Bathing the Kanthers turned out to be harder than originally thought. Ron and Hermione had somehow agitated theirs and it nipped Ron's arm. Everyone seemed to be having the same problem, except for Emberlynne.

"I don't know why everyone is having such a hard time with this." Emberlynne said.

"Well we can't all be as perfect as you." Harry said laughing and throwing some suds on Emberlynne.

"Harry!" Emberlynne shouted. Then she picked up some suds and threw them on him.

Hagrid looked up when he heard Emberlynne yell, hoping it wasn't another group getting in a fight, and then he smiled when he saw them throwing suds at each other.

When the two finally had their Kanther dried, there was only one other group, two Ravenclaws that neither Emberlynne nor Harry knew.

"Well, that was fun." Harry said his face red from laughing so much.

"Yeah it was" Emberlynne agreed brushing suds off her robes.

"So how did you know how to wash this thing?" Harry said pointing at the Kanther they picked who was, at the moment, mesmerized by a butterfly.

"Well, I use to own one, although you're really not supposed to." Emberlynne said looking at the grass.

"Oh, well, that's interesting." Harry said.

"HEY! Instead of sitting there, could you guys help us?" Ron's voice came through the air.

When the two looked over they both busted out in laughter. Ron had been pinned on his stomach by the Kanther who was just staring at him, amused.

Harry was up before Emberlynne and running, Emberlynne followed at a walk. She was thinking of what she was going to write to Voldemort.

When they finally freed Ron of the paw, there were only ten minutes left of class. All four them worked fast to dry the Kanther and they had just finished when class was dismissed. The four left, waving to Hagrid, off to their last class of the day; Double History, everyone moaned about how boring it was, but Emberlynne was excited, saying how she loved History.

"Good, you can give both Ron and I a copy of your notes seeing as how we'll be asleep." Harry said jokingly, even though it was true.

"Haha, you're hilarious. You two really should be more serious." Hermione scolded.

"Maybe you should become more laid back." Ron retorted.

"Don't make me separate you two." Emberlynne said making everyone laugh.


End file.
